British Citizenship Applications

If you are an adult and wish to make a British citizenship application, there are two routes available to you. You can apply for citizenship if:

You have been lawfully resident in the UK for at least the last five years and have held indefinite leave to remain/permanent residence for at least the previous 12 months.

You are married to/in a civil partnership with a British citizen, have been lawfully resident in the UK for at least the last three years and have been granted indefinite leave to remain (at any time).

In addition, there are requirements about how long you are allowed to have spent outside the UK during the relevant period.

The British citizenship application process for children

For children under 18 wishing to apply for citizenship there is a different process called ‘registration’, the rules for which are more complicated.